What to Wear on a Ziplining Tour

Last week I tried ziplining for the first time. It was awesome. The boyfriend and I went to Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica to celebrate our 3-year anniversary, and the views were absolutely breathtaking — even better taken in from high above the rainforest canopy. If you’re thinking about giving ziplining a try, DO IT! Just make sure you pack accordingly.

Ziplining Gear

If you’ll be ziplining as part of a tour like I did, your ziplining gear rental should be included in the activity price. You’ll be outfitted with:

harness – There are a few variations of ziplining harnesses. Yours may be secured around your hips and each thigh (like the kind I wore on my tour), or it may have straps that wrap around your shoulders as well. Your guides should help you adjust it for a snug yet comfortable fit.

helmet – This will protect your head from hitting the cable.

trolley – This is the mechanism that is secured around the cable, which allows you to slide quickly along. There are variations in these as well. On my tour, we had a large metal trolley with handles that you hold onto while you ride. Other set-ups may require you to hold onto your strap as you ride.

carabiners – You’ll have a few of these. Your harness will be connected to your trolley via two carabiner and a strap, and a second set connecting your harness to a carabiner placed directly on the line will provide back-up security in case of failure with your trolley.

gloves – These may be provided if you’ll be holding onto a trolley with handles.

Want to know what ziplining is like? Watch a video of my first ziplining experience on my personal travel blog here.

What to Wear Ziplining

Of course your exact outfit will depend highly on the weather, but here are my general recommendations:

leggings, active/convertible pants, or long shorts — The more flex in your material, the better. Avoid short shorts. You’ll be opening your legs wide to stop at the end of your run, so don’t wear anything that would be revealing in that situation.

active top — I wore a sports bra and tank top. It was cloudy, shady and a little breezy, so I might also recommend the next item.

light jacket — This is dependent where exactly you’re ziplining. In Costa Rica, at Arenal Volcano, it was chilly enough up high to warrant wearing one, and most people in our group did wear a lightweight jacket on the tour. If it’s got zippered pockets, even better! You can take your cell phone along to snap some photos on the platforms. I was still mostly comfortable without a jacket, though.

sunglasses — Not just for the sun, these will protect your eyes from drying out in the wind, so you’ll get the best view. Just make sure they’re always on your face; never take them off and put them in an unzipped pocket or you’ll surely lose them.

sunscreen — Put it on before you head up, since you likely won’t be taking it with you.

bug spray — This is also dependent on the area, but if you’re anywhere tropical or humid, I’d recommend it!

ponytail holder — I wore a french braid so my helmet would fit comfortably over my hair.

GoPro with helmet or chest strap — We rented one for $42 on our tour. If you have your own, take it!

small camera or cell phone — Your tour may not allow taking anything with you, but if you’ve got a small item in a fully-zipped pocket, you may be okay taking it. My boyfriend took his cell phone in the zipped side pocket of his cargo shorts. This way you can avoid purchasing the pricey photos taken by your tour company by taking your own instead.

a photo taken with my boyfriend’s cell phone camera

Now have fun ziplining! If you go — or if you’ve already been — let us know what you wore in the comments!

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Diana SouthernSTG Founder & Contributing Editor

Diana is an outspoken, DIY-ing, star-chasing, hockey-loving, dog-owning, veggie-eating professional wanderer. And that's not the half of it. Not long ago she jumped ship from a comfy, predictable American life, sold all her stuff, and set out to explore the unknown. Now a full-time traveler, Diana believes that spontaneity, a smile, and an organized suitcase are the three key elements to a happy nomadic existence. Follow her personal travels on North To South.

6 Responses

Came across your Web site searching for zip lining outfit ideas. Going to Punta Cana on a business/vacation trip in a week and a zip lining experience is part of our package. Well actually we had a choice amongst different activities. Thought we’d be adventurous. I am not convinced we took the right choice yet. 🙂
I am not an experienced traveler, so I’m glad I came across you website as there are a lot of useful ideas.

Have an awesome time ziplining! I surely don’t think you’ll regret it. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. It was only terrifying for a second at the beginning of my first run, and then it was just awesome! 😉

This probably depends on the exact type of zip line you’re riding and whether or not the company you’re going with will allow it. We weren’t supposed to have any loose items at all with us. I wouldn’t recommend having anything hanging too far from your body anyway. The less you take along, the better!

I really liked it when you said that the person can wear a jacket with a zippered pocket during their zip line tour so that they can take photos of the view while they are up there. I have been pondering that for a while now since zip lining will be a once in a lifetime thing for me. This is because I am deathly afraid of heights. It would really be nice if I can take pictures, so I can remember the day that I conquered my fears. Thanks!